not offer any opinion on it at present. The petitioners also complained, that other staples of India, such as cotton, &c., were, in consequence of the rate of duty, excluded from this country. In fact, they felt that those articles were treated as if they were not the produce of a British possession, but of a foreign colony; and they prayed that, even in the present session, some reform might be effected in the scale of duties. When these subjects came regularly to be discussed, he had no doubt that the utmost attention would be paid to them; and looking to the trade with the Indian Archipelago-looking to the various new sources of trade and commerce which were springing up-but more particularly looking to the probable intercourse between India and the liberated states of South America, he was perfectly satisfied that a field would be opened for the employment of British capital, much more extensive than was imagined by those who had not narrowly considered the subject. These branches of commerce were only in their infancy; but he was convinced that if they were encouraged the country would derive incalculable benefit from them. Having made these few remarks, he should beg leave to bring up the petition. BRITISH SHIPPING INTEREST. General Gascoyne this day called the attention of the House to the state of the British Shipping Interest. He maintained that a considerable diminution in the trade had taken place, and moved, that the House should pledge itself to inquire into the causes thereof next session. After the motion had been opposed by Mr. Courtenay, Mr. Charles Grant, and Mr. Poulett Thompson, and supported by Mr. Robinson and Mr. Liddell, Mr. HUSKISSON rose.e-He said, that at that late hour of the night he would not trespass long upon the attention of the House. In preceding sessions, he had already stated at large his views and principles, in reference to this important question; and it would be quite impossible for him to add any thing to the lucid and convincing statement of facts which his right honourable friend had laid before the House upon this now almost exhausted subject. The honourable member for Dovert had expressed his indignant feelings at the treatment which he (Mr. Huskisson) had received from certain parties. He could assure the House, that such treatment had in no degree disturbed the tranquillity of his feelings, and if the ship-owners had only paid two hundred pounds to the writer of the scurrilous pamphlet alluded to, he would say they had measured their liberality by the low rate of freights. He would own that he had been rather startled by the first statement of the gallant general. The gallant general commenced by stating, that he was about to discuss-what? an abstract naval question, with a collateral view to commerce. He must acknowledge that his gallant colleague had well performed his promise-if by "abstract" he had meant a view of the subject, leaving out all the facts of the case-and certainly his gallant colleague treated the collateral part of the question with quite as little reserve. The gallant general had argued upon what he seemed to consider an apparent deficiency, or falling-off, in the tonnage of the country, and in the number of seamen; and his proposition was that, next session, they should inquire into a subject which had been already fully and satisfactorily explained. In the year 1825, he had felt it his duty to consolidate all the complicated and various acts relating to shipping; and by one provision then made, it was ordered, that all ships on coming into port should be registered, upon the oath of the captain. The old registry act, the - Mr. Charles Grant.. + Mr. Poulett Thompson. 26th of the late King, did not provide for the ships which might be lost at sea, or otherwise destroyed. Their registries still remained; but when he came to remodel the registries, in the year 1827, it was plain that those ships which were no longer in existence could not be registered de novo. Therefore, all the shipping which had been lost or destroyed, from the year 1774 to 1827, were omitted in the new regis try list; and thereupon the gallant general called upon him to account for the apparent diminution in shipping between 1826 and 1827. Why, the same thing would have happened, if the remodelling of the registry act had taken place in 1814, or in any other year. But his gallant colleague inquired, what had become of the seamen? In reply to this question, he would state, that about a century and a half ago this House granted a land-tax to the Crown, and tax commissioners were appointed by King William in every county for its collection. These collectors were appointed only for the year; and it appeared, that each year the county members returned to Government the names of a number of gentlemen qualified to fill the office. From the period of King William to the present time, this law had continued unchanged, when at this moment a bill for that purpose was passing through the House; and it was found necessary to append to that bill the names of all the commissioners who had been appointed, and of all the persons who had been recommended by the several county members, from the time of King William to the present. The bill in that state had been already read a third time. It was a mass of such magnitude, that the other bills on the table would appear but as mere shreds before it; and, indeed, he would not like to be the person to move that it should be carried to the Lords by any single member of that House. Now, if any one proposed to take out of that bill the names of all those persons who were unques tionably dead—such as those appointed in the reigns of king William, queen Anne, king George I., II., and III.,— his honourable and gallant colleague would probably stare at the diminished bill, and ask "what had become of all the commissioners ?" His gallant friend had admitted, that there was an increase in trade, but he complained, that the expense in the men and shipping, by which the trade was carried on, had decreased. What, then, was the manifest object of his inquiry? That the shipping should be employed at higher rates, that the country should be put to greater expense,— and that thus all competition with foreign countries should be prevented! His gallant friend had complained that, by the aid of steam-packets, vessels were enabled often a fortnight sooner to get to sea, and that British vessels often made two voyages in one season to the Baltic. His gallant friend ought at once to pass a law to put down steampackets, and to prevent vessels making more than one voyage in the year to the Baltic. There was at present an agent in London for all the shipping belonging to the north-east coast of England. That gentleman was Mr. Richmond, one who had closely attended to the interests which it was his duty to watch over; and in a letter which he had received from that gentleman this very morning, there occurred the following sentence :-" It is not from want of employment that we complain; we have more of that than ever there was. Owing to the consumption of our noble and wealthy country, I am convinced that the importations of the year 1826 have exceeded those of the far-famed year 1825." This showed that the shipping interests were in no want of employment. He would admit that those interests, as well as the other interests of this country, had latterly made but small profits; but that was owing to general causes, which all must admit, while they deplored their existence. The shipping interest complained, on the one hand; and so did the farmers and manufacturers on the other. It had been over and over again asked, whether, under the present system, British shipping could stand a fair competition with the ships of other nations. He would answer that question by a statement which had been put into his hands by one of the members for the city of London.* The ports of Brazil were free ports; and it appeared that the trade of Brazil, between Brazil and Europe, owing to the want of shipping in Brazil, must be carried on, either by European ships, or by those of the United States. One article of Brazilian produce was sugar. That sugar could not be brought to England, on account of the high prohibitory duties. A great portion of it was exported to Trieste, and the other portion to Hamburgh. Twentyeight vessels had sailed from Bahia in the last year laden with sugar to Trieste; and of these, four were Austrian, two were Swedes, one Russian; in all seven. The remaining twentyone were English. Forty-eight ships had sailed to Hamburgh from Bahia, during the last year: of these twelve belonged to Hamburgh, two were Germans, one Dutch, one Swede, one Russian, and twenty-three of them were English. Thus, out of seventy-five vessels which carried on the trade of the Brazils with Europe, about fifty were English. While he had been absent from the House, he had heard that his right honourable friend, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade,+ had declared, that his own mind, and that of his right honourable colleague, the President of that Board, were "blank" upon this subject. He did not think, however, that they were persons likely to adopt any change in the general policy and principle of the com • Mr. Alderman The + Mr. Courtenay. 1 |